The Virtual House

World Wide Web

The most important part of the computer revolution was the World Wide Web. The internet used to be hard to understand, and was mainly used by scientists until 1993. When the release of a new and simpler code made the World Wide Web possible, the internet boom began.

By 1998, it was an important part of the world economy, and ‘surfing’ was no longer a hobby for people who liked going to the seaside and getting wet.

E-mail is short for electronic mail. It’s a method of sending letters using computers and a communications network like the internet. You write a letter on your computer and, using a code, address it to the person you want to contact.

In the 1990s, the first practical videophones became available, so you could see as well as hear the person you were speaking. But at home, people are more likely to have face to face chats with distant friends and relatives by using a computer Webcam.

The Internet is also breaking down the boundaries of radio transmission. With Internet audio, users can preview music they might want to buy, and/or download music to record it. A Jamie Cullum fan in London can pick up a jazz station out of Paris, and a pop fan in Cornwall can download rock radio from New York or Los Angeles.

Listening to music, shopping, doing homework, playing games, paying bills, dating, working, chatting to friends on the other side of the world – how did we manage without the internet?